HEAD athletes rewarded with hard work in medals at Sochi

February 27th, 2014

Recognising the racers that could win the big races is one of the hardest jobs for Rainer Salzgeber in the pursuit of Olympic Success. Following the closing of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the athletes using HEAD skis have demonstrated what a tightknit team they are. They are not all from one country but they all have one common desire: To win.

Matthias Mayer won the Blue Ribbon event: The Men’s Downhill. Mayer has not won a World Cup race but showed that on the day he can be up there with the likes of Bode Miller and Aksel Lund Svindal; the two hot favourites for the speed events. Svindal had to be content with fourth yet Mayer took the Gold and Kjetil Jansrud the bronze. For Jansrud this was a sweet reply to having ended the previous season almost a year to the day earlier with an ACL injury – his Olympics would get better when he won the Super G Gold.

If Mayer was a surprise in winning the Downhill, Jansrud showed he was in form as he won the downhill section of the Super Combined before settling for fourth after the Slalom leg. What better way to pick yourself up than by winning the next race, the Super G?

The Super G was a HEAD dominated race: Jansrud won from Andrew Weibrecht and Bode Miller shared third place. For Weibrecht this was justification for his determination to come back from injury. Four years ago in Vancouver he won bronze and then was injured. Switching to HEAD, Weibrecht justified the faith shown in him. Miller, one to never doubt the ability of Weibrecht, in taking the bronze became the most decorated American Olympian with his bronze.

Maria Hoefl-Riesch took the Gold in the Super Combined to defend her 2010 Title yet was hit by a flu virus that robbed her of her strength to defend her Slalom Title as well as she came in fourth.

Julia Mancuso has had a miserable season on the World Cup but Julia is a racer that focuses on the big races and her bronze in the Super Combined after having won the downhill section of the race was justification for the hard work put in by the technicians in getting her equipment right through the World Cup season.

Anna Fenninger came in to the Olympics as one of the most watched racers from the World Cup. Downhill, Super G, Super Combined and Giant Slalom were all her events and to have taken a Gold in Super G and a silver in the Super Combined. This was more than she believed she could do she explained after her Games were done.

The World Cup continues now and with HEAD racers fighting on all fronts, success keeps rolling.